4.  The applicant was born in 1945 and lives in Pleven.
5.  On 3 April 1992 the applicant was appointed general manager of the state-owned company Republika EOOD (“the company”) under a contract executed between him and the Ministry of Industry (“the Ministry”).
6.  On 30 June 1995 the applicant signed a new contract with the Ministry pursuant to which he was to remain the general manger of the company until 1998.
7.  On 25 July 1995 the Ministry rescinded the latter contract and the applicant had to leave the position of a general manager.
8.  Believing the rescission to have been unlawful, on 16 August 1995 the applicant brought an action before the Sofia City Court, seeking remuneration under the contract of 1995. The action was directed against the company as a main defendant and the Ministry of Industry (“the Ministry”) as an additional defendant in the event of dismissal of the action against the company.
9.  The number of hearings held between August 1995 and October 1996 is not clear. It appears that a hearing was held in February 1996.
10.  For the period between October 1996 and March 2001 the Sofia City Court held hearings on 15 October 1996, 4 February 1997, 28 March 1997, 4 November 1997, 21 April 1998, 30 October 1998, 20 April 1999, 5 October 1999, 15 February 2000, 23 May 2000, 7 November 2000 and 27 March 2001. Four of these hearings were adjourned upon requests of the defendants or because of the absence of experts.
11.  In examining the case the court heard the parties and several experts who had to give an estimate of the amount of the applicant’s remuneration.
12.  By a judgment of 19 July 2001 the Sofia City Court dismissed the applicant’s action against the company and partially granted it against the Ministry. The court held that a party under the contract of 1995 and the proper defendant in the case before it was the Ministry which had been responsible for rescinding the contract. The Ministry was liable to pay the full amount of the agreed remuneration, which was established to be 5,631.28 Bulgarian levs (BGN), the equivalent of 2,879.23 euros (EUR). The court ordered the Ministry to pay this amount, plus interest and BGN 230 (EUR 117.57) in costs.
13.  The applicant and the company did not appeal.
14.  The Ministry appealed, contending, inter alia, that it had acted on behalf of the company as a representative of the owner of its capital and that therefore the company was the proper defendant in the proceedings. Moreover, the contract explicitly stipulated that the applicant’s remuneration was to be paid by the company.
15.  By a judgment of 30 June 2002 the Sofia Court of Appeal quashed the Sofia City Court’s judgment in so far as it granted the claim against the Ministry. It held that although the contract had been signed by the Minister, the company was a party to it because the Minister had not acted as a head of the Ministry but as a representative of the owner of the capital, appointing the general manager of the company. Therefore, it was the company’s responsibility that had to be engaged. The court, however, was barred from examining the action against the company because neither the applicant, nor any of the other parties had appealed against the dismissal by the Sofia City Court of the action against the company. The judgment of the Sofia City Court had thus become final in respect of the company.
16.  The applicant filed a cassation appeal.
17.  By a final judgment of 13 January 2004 the Supreme Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal and upheld the judgment of 30 June 2002, finding that the company, not the Ministry, had been party to the 1995 contract. As to the applicant’s argument that the merits of his action against the company had not been examined, the court held that the Sofia City Court had examined and dismissed that action. As the applicant had not appealed, despite the interest to do so, the Sofia Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Cassation were barred from examining the issue again.